SHI Obtains Collection of Rare and Historic Photographs

The Sealaska Heritage Institute’s Special Collections Research Center library and archive recently obtained a significant collection of rare and historic photographs. These photographs, dating to between 1878 and 1915, capture visual imagery of Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian history. These photographs were obtained from Alaskana collector Richard Wood, also operator of the Alaskan Heritage Bookshop of Juneau, Alaska.

While SHI Special Collections had previously obtained some photos from the Alaskan Heritage Bookshop in the past, with this new addition the collection amounts to seventy-two unique and rare photographs in our Richard Wood Photograph Collection. It’s quite possible that some of these photographs are not held by any other library in the world. The collection is diverse, capturing various views of Native life and culture, and the pictures were taken by various professional and semi-professional photographers. One particularly rare photograph captures a view of a Tlingit canoe with a sail. This picture can be viewed below along with a few other samples. All the images in this collection have been posted online. Overall, this collection is a great addition to SHI Special Collections holdings and will provide practical use for SHI and the patrons of Special Collections. Some of these photographs are currently being used in SHI’s forthcoming curriculum entitled The Road to ANCSA: A Native Perspective.



Item 24: Cabinet card photograph showing a Tlingit canoe with sails on an unknown river, circa 1880s, by Miller-Chase. Photo has seven or eight men in canoe, with sails up and American flag waiving. Photo is labeled as “Miners on the Yukon, Alaska” but its unclear if this is actually in the Yukon area.



Item 54: Cabinet card photograph of a Killisnoo Jake (Kichnaalx) in regalia and the clan hat named Ats’eiyee S’aaxw (Sheltered Area Under the Tree Hat), photograph produced by B.C. Towne, circa 1880s. Photographer likely Edward DeGroff.


Sealaska Heritage Institute is a regional nonprofit serving the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian people of Southeast Alaska. Its mission is to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures. If you would like to donate materials to SHI Special Collections contact their archivist.

Art Applications Now Available

Applications for the 2010 Juried Art Show and Competition and the Native Artist Market are available online. Both events will be held during Celebration 2010.




Postcard photograph of "Native jeweler making bracelets, Wrangell, Alaska," postmarked 1910. Photo shows jeweler at work in his shop. From the Richard Wood Photograph Collection, PO049, Item 30, SHI Special Collections.

Press Release: SHI Releases Unique Carving Book Series to Perpetuate Native Art

Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) has released a series of books that reveal how to carve Tlingit objects in its ongoing effort to perpetuate Native art forms.

The Tlingit Wood Carving series includes three volumes: How to Carve a Tlingit Tray; How to Carve a Tlingit Hat; and How to Carve a Tlingit Mask. The books, written by the accomplished Tlingit artist Richard A. Beasley, also include projects that show how to make Tlingit paint and paintbrushes and how to inlay operculum and abalone.

The books are unique because the projects are broken down into detailed steps and each step includes a color photo, said SHI President Rosita Worl, noting the series will be invaluable to students who don’t have access to a teacher.

“I think an aspiring artist is going to be able to take this book and go through the step-by-step process and produce a good quality object,” said Worl, noting teachers also may use the series as a curriculum.

“I haven’t seen anything out there that is a step-by-step--that will give you all the hints, the tricks, the secrets,” said Beasley. “And I’m willing to share them with everybody.”

Traditionally, aspiring artists apprenticed with master carvers to learn the techniques, and that is still the best method. However, many aspiring artists do not have access to teachers, and only a few tribal members are producing museum-quality pieces these days, said Beasley, noting that is one of the reasons he felt called to write the books.

“What I’m worried about is that this will be eventually lost, and then it will have to be picked up and reinterpreted, and we don’t want to pass that hurdle onto our future generations. We want to leave a blueprint that the future generations can look at and it will give them a visual step-by-step on what to do and what not to do. And, I’m real excited for that,” said Beasley, adding the series is his attempt to preserve cultural knowledge visually.

That concern for the loss of traditional Native art forms that have evolved over thousands of years is the reason why Sealaska Heritage Institute sponsors art programs and why it produced the books, Worl said.

“Art, as we would say art in the western terms, is really the underlying basis of our culture. Art as represented in our ceremonial regalia, in our ceremonial objects, really is the face of our culture. So we want to continue that,” Worl said.

The projects were documented over three years through a federal grant from the Administration for Native Americans. Most of the photos were taken by the well-known Juneau photographer Mark Kelley. Each project is preceded by an historical overview written by former SHI Ethnologist Kathy Miller. Worl wrote the foreword for the books, which were edited and designed by Kathy Dye. The books are available in paperback through Sealaska Heritage Institute and Amazon. The institute opted to print the books through CreateSpace—a print-on-demand service—to eliminate the upfront cost of purchasing large inventories of books and the cost of storing them.

Sealaska Heritage Institute is a regional nonprofit serving the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian people of Southeast Alaska. Its mission is to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures.

Lectures for Native American History Month Online

We wanted to announce that all the lectures from SHI's lecture series for Native American History Month are now available for viewing online. These can be found via the Sealaska Heritage Institute's online video library.


Cabinet card photograph of Haida man standing in front of a Haida home with totem at Howkan Village, wood shavings in foreground, by Edward DeGroff, circa 1880s. Richard Wood Photograph Collection, PO049, Item 55.

Everson, Lund to speak about Alaska Native Sisterhood

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

Selina Everson and Ethel Lund will give a joint lecture on Monday, Nov. 30, on the Alaska Native Sisterhood (ANS).

The talk is part of a brown-bag lecture series sponsored by Sealaska Heritage Institute to celebrate Native American Month.

Everson serves on the executive committee of the ANS and has a long history of public service, especially in Juneau schools, where she is known as Grandma Selena. Lund also serves on the ANS executive committee and is a visionary in the field of Native health care.

The lecture is scheduled from noon-1 pm in the 4th floor boardroom in the Sealaska building in Juneau. It’s open to the public and free of charge.



Image of ANS leadership and members. From the Rosa Miller Photograph Collection, PO057, SHI Special Collections.